Labor's bid to close a so-called "widow's tax" loophole could be gazumped by its Senate rivals, after the first casualty of the government's tax changes came forward. Crossbenchers including independent senator David Pocock welcomed draft legislation to amend Labor's changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, released on Tuesday, but said the fix could not come soon enough. The end is near for the so-called "widow tax" but its demise may come sooner than expected. Under Labor's tax changes, people who owned an investment property before budget night on May 12 could continue to negatively gear it. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says negative gearing will continue if a home is acquired from a spouse.